Weds in Winter Park

We had a family day in the middle of the week. We all went to Winter Park Resort for the day. And what a day it was. Here are the kids at the beginning...ready to go have fun. (In the stroller is my newest nephew.)

 

The big draw for the resort was the alpine slides. I had only gone down one once - 9 years ago when I was a few weeks pregnant. I went down really s.l.o.w. So honestly, I wasn't sure I would enjoy them this time around.

Here I am riding up the ski lift. My first trip up was with my oldest nephew, and  he probably got more than he bargained for. I was reminded that "I don't like this hanging high in the hair with my feet dangling" feeling. And it was a LONG WAY up. Family behind us wanted us to turn around for a picture. Couldn't do it. I kept telling my nephew to distract me; I thought for sure that it would be a one time ride for me.



 

Analise made her first trip down with Brandon.

Up at the top waiting in line. It was so pretty up there.



 

Grandpa and Maisie made several trips up and down together.

 

My first ride down was with Sadie (no picture) and we went cautiously down the mountain. And when we got  off, I hopped back on that ski lift to go again. And as the day went on, I didn't get nervous on the ski lift, and I went faster in my sled. And after a couple rides down with dad, Sadie wasn't so cautious either. She drove that thing with as must speed and gusto as she could. 

 

We took a break from the alpine slides to jump on the trampolines.

Here is Maisie high in the sky.

 

And Analise...



 And who is that lady? Oh  yeah, it's me. I thought it was fun, but I simply jumped. No crazy flips for me; I can't even handle sommersaults any more. I think I get it from my dad. :)

 

And later the girls took turns on the zipline.

 Analise and I played mini golf.

I loved seeing these two ride up together.

The girls, nephew K, and I had fun talking a maze. Thanks to some help above (SIL), we made it through to the finish.

 

 

Some pretty flowers

 Brandon took this at a higher point on the mountain.

 

It was a good, fun, long day full of blessings. Though the family couldn't stick together all day, it was fun seeing them around and doing different activites with them. God protected some family members on the alpine slide that day, and we will forever be grateful.

We went home tired yet thankful for a fun day!

RMNP with My Man

 

Tuesday was a great day. Grandma and Grandma took the kids so spouses could get a day with each other. Yeah! Here they are before they head off on a day of adventure.

 

First stop: Rocky Mountain National Park. But wait- where are the kids?

 Oh, there they are. :)

They went on a small hike back to have a picnic.



 While the kids were off with grandparents and cousins, Brandon and I were excited about our day. What to do, what to do. However, when Brandon asked me what I would like to do, it wasn't a tough decision. I wanted to go back to my favorite hike from our honeymoon, almost 12 years ago. It wasn't hard to convince him since he loves hiking.

The bonus of the day: D and S were doing the same thing so we saw them along the way. They were here at the sign, so D took the picture for us. How nice.

 

Green Mnt. Trailhead leading back almost 2 miles to Big Meadows. My quiet, peaceful place.

 The hike was more uphill than I had remembered, but it was great to be in nature - talking about where our life had been in the last 12 years and where it was leading.

And then we arrived. Ahhh...

Looking one direction from my little bridge

 

And looking the other direction. You feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. (However, it did have great cell service. Who knew?)

 

Pretty sure Brandon wasn't using a cell phone 12 years ago  to take a panoramic picture.



Me in my happy, but not so green anymore, place. 

 

Again we met up with D and S. How fun to see them there!

 

 

Brothers and Best Friends

 

 

We looked for moose along the hike and saw one laying down, but we couldn't get a good picture. But I got a good picture of my hubby with his binoculars. Makes me laugh.

 

After our 5 miles round trip hike, Brandon wanted to drive up to the Alpine Visitors Center. I had forgotten how beautiful it is. And I am so glad Brandon drove. :) Here we are ascending and looking out over the valley where we had started. Pictures don't do it justice.

 Along the way we saw people pulled over, which usually indicated wild life. Yeah - a mother moose and her calf! Love!

 And we saw several elk.

 

At the top looking out

 

 

On our way back down the mountain, I decided to put on my ipod. The songs that played as we came down were worship songs. Nothing unusual, but singing them while in such an amazing place of God's creation about brought me to tears. I hope to never forget it.

 

Tuesday night meal was provided by D and S - pasta and salads. Mmm...another good one! And after the kids were tucked in, Sarah and I relaxed in the hot tub overlooking the mountains and valley. The moon and stars were stunning. We enjoyed talking and relaxing and loved having Sarena able to join us for a bit. I think I could use some of that hot tub experience again now. :)

Monday out West

We had plans for Monday morning, and I was excited about them. I have a college friend that lives close to wear we were staying, so I let her know that I would love to see her. Her son happened to have swim lesson as a rec center close by, and it was someplace we had wanted to go. Perfect!

We loaded up the girls, their swimming things, lunches and headed 15 minutes away to the rec center. We all had a lot of fun!

 

Sadie loved the shallow end where she felt comfortable.

 

Brandon spent the first 45 minutes in the gym shooting hoops. Once he came to the pool area, the girls (esp Analise) had a lot more fun. Here they are in the lazy river.

Maisie liked the shallow part, too, and then she headed over to the "deep end" (all 3 feet) and jumped in over and over and over...

 

There was a fun slide that Analise fell in love with, thanks to dad. Ya know, this mom sat in a chair talking with her friend and taking pictures.

Here comes Brandon; he had lots of fun. My friend's hubby was there, too, so the two men were like two boys going down that slide. The slide had a timer to let you know how long it took you to get down. Brandon was out to beat his record each time he went down.

Look closely, and you will see Brandon's feet.

After we left the pool area, we hung out in the gym for a bit. And there happened to be a volleyball laying around. Analise and I played with it, and I did some serving; I haven't served a volleyball for probably five years. And not only could I still do it, but I could also serve it to specific zones. Ahh...this 34 year old felt like I was back  in college. Well, almost.

Here I am with my fiend, C, who was due any day. Doesn't she look cute?

 

Monday night dinner was provided by S and D, but mostly Dave. We had a taco bar night  - yummy! The kids played great, and we got them to bed at a decent time. And then a storm rolled through. The girls weren't too thrilled (aka scared) of this. And then the power went out. Oh yeah...girls were even more nervous. Thankfully the girls finally fell asleep, and the power came back on as the adults went to bed. Brandon was the good daddy taking care of the girls while this mom was upstairs reading on her Nook. No power outage affected my reading abilities. :)